Hello world!

Welcome to the Perenjori Blog . People may ask what or where is Perenjori?

Here is some background:

PerenjoriTypical wheatbelt town

Located 348 km north of Perth Western Australia, Perenjori is a little more interesting than most of the northern wheatbelt towns. Apart from the mandatory wheat silos, railway line and hotel with motel­style accommodation its appeals include a genuinely delightful main street with large stands of gum trees, one of Monsignor Hawes¹ churches (although,in fairness, it is one of the least interesting), an interesting local folk Museum and, 68 km east, the gold mining ghost town of Rothsay.

The Perenjori area was first explored by John Forrest in 1869 but it wasn¹t until gold was discovered at Rothsay in 1894 that any significant settlement occurred.

Rothsay, which lies approximately halfway between Perenjori and Paynes Find, is a true gold mining ghost town. At its height, from the discovery of gold in 1894 to the closing down of the mine in 1902, over 90 000 ounces of gold were extracted from the region. In 1896 it had an estimated population of around 300. The mine was re­opened in 1935 by an entrepreneur named Claude de Bernales but it closed again in 1939. All that is left now are some deserted buildings including the mine manager¹s house and strongroom, the foundations of the gold battery and the lonely graves of some of the miners who died in this isolated settlement.

Perenjori probably gets its name from a corruption of the Aboriginal word Œperangery¹ which supposedly meant waterhole. It would be an appropriate name as the town lies on the northeastern edge of the wheat­belt. Beyond it to the east lie the larger pastoral holdings of the Murchison and the towns which once drew gold prospectors to the region.

It is claimed that the town was called Perangery until a railway worker recorded the town on the Government list of railway stations as Perenjori.

The township was established in the years immediately prior to World War I when the land in the region was opened for selection. The first few years were extremely hard and the farmers struggled to survive but the arrival of the railway in 1915 and improved cropping methods eventually saw the district prosper.

Things to see:

Church of St Joseph
Perenjori, along with Northampton, Mullewa, Yalgoo, Tardun, Morawa, Geraldton and Nanson, is the site of a church built by the famous Western Australian architect­priest Monsignor John Hawes (see introduction for details of Hawes¹ life). Between 1915­1939 Hawes designed and helped to construct a large number of churches and church buildings in the Central West.

The sign outside The Church of St Joseph (on the Carnamah road at the western end of town) explains its history and its interest. ŒBuilt in 1937 the Church of St Joseph was designed while John Hawes was also working on plans for two other parish churches supervising construction of Northampton¹s St Mary in Ara Coeli and travelling long distances on horseback as an active parish priest. Stark, utilitarian and much less a blend of architectural styles as was most of his work its design was strongly influenced by Father Benedict Williamson¹s book How to Build a Church. In the church¹s interior, the huge stone baldachino (canopy) above the high altar and supported by two massive columns looks very similar to one of the illustrations. Another noteworthy internal feature is the baldachino¹s fascia which has a frieze carved by Hawes depicting Christ and the twelve apostles. The structurally supportive metal braces in the nave roof were insisted upon by the Public Works Department but not without vigorous protest by John Hawes. Hampered by lack of funds the planned belltower was never added reinforcing the building¹s functional appearance.

Perenjori-Rothsay Heritage Trail
The best way to see the district is to follow The Perenjori-Rothsay Heritage Trail which is available at the Perenjori Shire Offices or the Museum. It is a 180 km round trip which includes the Perenjori Museum (originally the Bank of NSW building) and the John Forrest lookout (survey point used by John Forrest), the Rothsay townsite, the rabbit­proof fence road to the Camel soak and the Mungar¹s lake lookout which overlooks a large salt lake.

The trail passes through the rich wheat growing area around Perenjori and moves east across uncleared shrub and salt lakes to the station country around Rothsay. Fauna native to the area such as galahs, emus, lizards and small marsupials can be seen as well as stands of native flora especially the everlastings and the wreath flowers.

Hotels

As this is the first blog entry future news and links to the mining activities within the area and soem exciting new developments and tourist attraction upgrades will be posted on here .

Along with Univerity involvment and new airport and much much more . Such as a new range of healthy clean pure foods.

Adopt wildlife or stock –yes you can be part of a farming community even if in the city – updates of your flock,herd or crop in which you share the joys and rewards of agriculture , grazing or acquaculture via the web or in person.

Of course you will visit your own plot and receive special offers and much much more.

26 Responses to “Hello world!”

Having had some involvement with the Perenjori Shire in recent times, I take my hat off to your levels of enthusiasm, strategic vision and “can do” attitude”. I’m confident that the proposed Perenjori Energy Park will evolve into a vibrant renewable energy resource, and will show other regional comnunities just what’s possible. It’s only a matter of time…

Perenjori was lucky enough to enjoy a balmy night during the UWA presentations of The school of architecture along with faculty Land management presentation .
Those that were there may wish to contribute their thoughts to this blog.

Tthe history of Perenjori is very interesting, particularly because it gives a flavour to the way the place is imagined. I am grateful that I now have some images to put with the name of the place. For those of us with little knowledge of the history of either gold mining or church architecture, it is interesting to speculate about the way that future hstorians will remember Perenjori. In fact, Perenjori has already achieved a certain degree of fame in the wide world beyond Australia’s borders due to being the home town of Puppy Linux, one of Australia’s finest high technology exports. It is to be fervently hoped that a blue plaque will soon be placed outside the house of Barry Kauler to mark the spot where it all began🙂

Good to see this board being used considering not one bit of advertising etc has been done .Mark you are correct Barry has done sterling work and having met the gentleman his humility is inversly proportional to the excellent product. One of the nicest and most humble blokes you could wish to meet.

Have actually loaded the latest application of his and it is intuitive and like it and I know nothing about Linux

Good morning Grace , At the moment the Perenjori WEB site is uindergoing a complete make over . (The old one was abit tired and drab)
Part of the new look web site will have updates that touches on all things of importance and or interest .
However, much of what is happening is commercial in confidence and we only disclose after it happens . Too much blue sky tends to upset the locals🙂

Bush goes ballistic about other countries being evil and dangerous, because they have weapons of mass destruction. But, he insists on building up even a more deadly supply of nuclear arms right here in the US. What do you think? Why has bush turned our country from a country of hope and prosperity to a country of belligerence and fear.
Our country is in debt until forever, we don’t have jobs, and we live in fear. We have invaded a country and been responsible for thousands of deaths.
We have lost friends and influenced no one. No wonder most of the world thinks we suck. Thanks to what george bush has done to our country during the past three years, we do!

It sounds like a great place with really interesting views and sights, it must be lovely to be involved in projects like that, the closest I ever came was installing air conditioning units in a national reserve wardens office complex. Good luck

things have really moved apace we now hold patents on Thermally efficient flat pack housing and now about to look into export market . Aquaculture project was signed off today and additional distance learning modules to be incorporated Solar saline water distilation and also power generation incorporating stirling engine no emissions what so ever and photo Bio reactors . lots on the go why not visit ?🙂

Barry Kauler just mailed me the latest version of Puppy (4.3.1). I pay for an actual CD every so often just to to hear from Western Australia. At 18,700 km. away from Riverside it is the farthest away point on the planet from Riverside, Rhode Island, USA.
I am not far from retirement and hope to visit Perenjori someday.
Let’s hope the waterhole is not dried up by then.

Hello to the friendly community of Perenjori,
I worked for the Shire as town gardener during 1996-1997.
It was a memorable period of my life, befriending most of the townsfolk and some of the farmers as well. I enjoyed getting involved in community events and felt that I left a lasting impression with my works about town.
I`m on a decade long working holiday in Queensland, but I will return to Perenjori one day for old times sake.
Regards Richard Mustchin